


A Strong Heart

by punkskully



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Coda, Episode: s05e08 Coda, Fix-It, more characters added with chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-21 08:07:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3684609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkskully/pseuds/punkskully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Laying there in the trunk, lips still pink and matted blood in her hair, is a blonde girl with a gunshot wound in her forehead."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pandora's Box just so happens to be a car trunk in the apocalypse

**Author's Note:**

> Hi All, I have a tumblr friend who wanted to test the waters to see if anyone would be interested in her story. 
> 
> ** This is a post- coda fix it, with Beth coming out wounded but alive from the gunshot. Morgan finds her in the trunk and away we go!*
> 
> Premise will be a culmination of all of Team Delusional theories that fit within the context of Season 5. Please enjoy, comment, let her know what you think!
> 
> *She's already aware it needs some more editing, but just wants to know if people are interested in the story! Thanks*

Morgan walks through the streets of downtown Atlanta like he owns the city. In the past month he's been comin' here. Challenging the dead. He thinks about how he used to hate going into the city. Hated the traffic. There is still traffic, but everything is at a standstill. He walks by, opening every car, checking for supplies. Anything that might have been left behind. He's done this dozens of times by now. Almost everything had been picked clean. Not even a stick of stale gum in the glovebox. As he rounds a corner, a walkers stumbled into him. With mighty force he shoves it to the ground and smashes its skull with his boot. He looks down at it. "Not today." He says out loud to no one but himself. Looking up, he sees a bloodied fire truck in the distance. Scratching his head, he looks around. He's been here before and this is the first time he is seeing it. He must have been going crazy again. Maybe it has been here the whole time. He walks up to it, inspecting it with caution expecting it was just another figment of his deluded imagination. Opening the cab, he sees a few strange and random things. A bag. A sweater. A yoyo. 

 

A car turns the corner and he stills and ducks down under the dash. People couldn't be trusted. He has next to nothing on him but that doesn't stop the living these days. The living are more dangerous than the dead in most respects. They will take everything you have from you even when you have nothing but the skin on your body. He's seen some things. Heard some things.

Peeking over to dash he sees that it's not just any car, but a cop car. The strangers pull up to an abandoned vehicle a few yards in front of the fire truck. A man and a woman dressed in police uniforms get out and look around. They walk up to the blue car, and after a minute of chatter between the two, the female officer opes the a door and moves to get in the driver's seat. Morgan watches, unsure if this is all just some crazy dream. Cops in Atlanta? It's been nearly 2 years since the turn. He looks around again. Are there more of them? There are walkers on the streets, but not many. These people don't seem to be too concerned. The female officer attempts to start the car but it doesn't turn over. She tries again. After a quick word between the two the male officer moves back towards their vehicle, reaching inside and popping the hood as well as the trunk. Morgan watches intently as they grab cables and seem to be attempting to jumpstart the car. They pop the hood of the car but after a few seconds and looks of confusion they shut it again. 

 

"Gonna be in the trunk" Morgan mutters to himself. He moves just a second and instantly regrets it. Almost as if in slow motion, the yo-yo that had been on the seat next to him falls down and bounces out of the cab of the fire truck and onto the asphalt below. Instantly both officers look towards him and draw their guns.

"Who's there?" The female officer looks towards the truck. She motions her partner to follow her. Slowly, they take careful steps towards the fire truck. "Well if they are real..." Morgan thinks to himself. He takes a graceful step out of the cab with his hands in the air. No one says anything for a minute and then the female officer speaks up.

"Did you know them?" She asks, her face stoic and firm.

"Know who?" Morgan responds. Clearly they are looking for another group.

The officer motions with her head toward the fire truck and the car. "These people. Were you with them?"

Morgan's face changes from confused to emotionless. "I don't have people. Just me. Been that way for a while."

The male officer looks around. Could this man be telling the truth? "Did you see people, a group... About a dozen men and women? Went through here yesterday... There was a herd. We thought... We thought maybe they didn't get out."

"They had some... resources. We gave them some of our resources and we thought..." The woman's sentence is interupted by a walker that had gotten too close. Morgan turns and with a quick and effortless motion he forces the knife into the front of the deads forhead. With the blade stuck in the walkers head he follows it down to the ground and presses his boot against the body to ease the weapon out. He cleans the blade and looks back to the woman. "Don't know nothing about no group of people." He pauses, they still have their guns raised to him. He decides on a gesture of peace. "But that car." He motions toward the blue car. "Battery is in the trunk."

 

The officers look at each other. With their guns still half-raised Morgan lets them know with his eyes he isn't going to try anything and slowly walks towards the vehicle to pop the trunk. "Battery still works. Heard you trying to turn her. Sounded like she still got some spark." He pushes the button and the trunk pops open just a bit.

Morgan moves to the trunk and makes to lift it open completely. "These older cars they,"

All three immediately inhale a sharp breath staring into the trunk.

Laying there in the trunk, lips still pink and matted blood in her hair, is a blonde girl with a gunshot wound in her forehead. The female officer immediately recognizes her and gets on her radio.

"Tanaka this is Shepard. Find Edwards. Get him on the floor. Get him now!"


	2. Give Me Your Eyes, I Need Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the feed back on tumblr as well as here. My friend is very excited to see how much everyone is enjoying it and has a third chapter already in the works :) Please enjoy!!

"She's still alive!"  
Shepard burst through the double doors yelling and frantic, trying her best to explain the sudden urgency to another officer as they rushed down the halls. "She was in a trunk. They just left her there. Must have happened when the herd came. I don't know how she's still alive... Look at her!" Morgan was carrying a lifeless Beth behind her. Reality suddenly kicked in that he was in a hospital. There were cops. A doctor. These were people. He suddenly began to feel the full weight of the girl and fought off the sensation of panic.

"Dr Edwards!" She yelled. A man in a white coat looked up and then began running down the hall towards them. "Room 10! Get her to room 10!" 

A pair of officers as thrust the door with the number 10 open and Morgan followed right behind them. Quickly and gently, he set the girl on the hospital bed, stepping back immediately and taking in the mass of scattered instruments and machines that seemed like they were from a world so long ago.

The doctor rushed to put his stethoscope on the girl's chest. Morgan could barely think. He looked on in disbelief. This girl was shot in the head. They found her in a trunk. Someone had left her in a trunk. How was she still alive?  
"I need 10 milligrams of epinephrine! Get me bags of Saline and Dilantin... Somebody start oxygen... start oxygen please! Now!" the doctor shouted as he opened the girls eyelids and checked her pupils. More people in scrubs started to gather around to see what the commotion was about. A few of them gave their acknowledgment to the doctor's orders and sprinted down the hall. The rest looked on with faces of shock and horror.  
Morgan backed out of the room while he too continued to look on in shock. This couldn't be real. This doctor. These people. Was this a dream? He took another step back and bumped into an older man who had stopped outside the room to gawk,  
"Sorry," he blurted, still fixated on watching what was going on. Morgan looked down at this man as if his apology was spoken in a foreign language.

"She was nice..." The man paused. "I hope..." His voice broke and he shook his head. He seemed to be at a loss for words as both he and Morgan looked from afar into the storm of hands and shouts and beeping machines in the room. "I hope they can save her." He swallowed. "We need a miracle. This world. This world needs miracles." The old man took one last sad glance towards the room Beth was in before leaving to push a cart down the hall.  
Morgan sank against the wall and sat and watched as people shuffled in and out of the room. Hours passed and the doctor never leaving her side. As if he could feel Morgan's stare, Dr. Edwards looked towards him and swallowed. Morgan could tell he was hiding something. That was the look of guilt. Morgan continued to stare at him, trying to figure him out. Edwards looked away, breaking the nervous eye contact. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and turned to check a monitor.   
Sweat started to drip into Morgan's eyes.It was hot. If that girl hadn't died from a bullet in her head she surely wouldn't have escaped the ruthless Georgia heat. Morgan got up and began walking the hall, trying to get a grasp for his sudden change in environment. Things had calmed down for the moment. Officer Shepard came walking around the corner, nearly bumping into him. She looked up at him and had a look on her face that made Morgan realize she must have forgotten she brought him here..   
"We don't normally... Take people in..." She started. She looked down the hall as if she had somewhere to be but didn't move. "But you helped us today. Least we can do is offer you a warm meal."  
Morgan looked at her and nodded a silent acceptance. He wasn't going to turn down generosity. And these people seemed alright. Saving an almost dead girl. And they were cops. Cops and doctors. Morgan didn't think there were people like that left in this world.

Shepard looked up at him and as another stranger in scrubs passed them she spoke up. "Norris. Can you take this man," she looked up at him and paused. She had never gotten his name.  
"Morgan. M'name's Morgan."  
"Can you take Morgan to the cafeteria? Tell them I said to let him have whatever he wants. He's the one who... " She cleared her throat. "He found Beth with us." She set her mouth in a firm line. It made Morgan unsure of what she thought of Beth. Was he being fed because he helped find her or helped save her? Who was that girl? Who was she to these people? They knew her name. More importantly, why was she shot in the head and left in a trunk? A wave of uneasiness suddenly overtook Morgan. He gestured a silent thanks and followed this "Norris" to the corner stairs and down a level to the hospital cafeteria. 

After his meal he made his way back towards the room the girl was being kept in. He stopped when he heard music. A record. He couldn't identify the artist but it was pleasing to his ears none-the-less. Slowly, he stepped into the room. The doctor was sitting next to the bed. Next to him on a small table was a record player that hadn't been there before.   
"She gonna make it?" Morgan was curious. There was something about this girl that he couldn't quite pinpoint.  
The doctor took his eyes off the girl for the first time. "Don't know. We did what we could." The clock ticked loudly on the wall and Edwards he looked up at it as if every tick was taunting them. "Just have to wait."  
"Seems like all we do nowadays. Wait." Morgan paused, remembering something Shepard had said. "Y'all knew her? How it happened? How she got out there?"

The doctor looked back to Beth and took a deep breath. "She was here. She came here. She was leaving when... when it happened. Her people took her. But... There was a herd." He pulled his glasses off and rubbed his temples before continuing. "Before all this. I used to get to save people. That's what I always wanted to do. I had just finished my residency here when it all happened. Those first days it was more dangerous to be in a place like this then out there. I thought I would get to spend the rest of my life doing something that mattered. Saving lives." He glanced at the machines in the corner hooked up to car batteries. "And then... And then it was a matter of resources. Who we could save. If they were worth saving." He looked up at Morgan with guilt in his eyes and then looked once again to Beth. "As a doctor, you see some things. Some people might call them miracles. I wasn't sure what to call it. But her." Wiping his glasses and motioning to Beth, "There's no other way to explain it. I don't know if she'll even wake up. But this." He rose from his chair to walked to the door, stopping in the door frame for a second, "The world needs small miracles. People like her to pull through. People like her to... Survive." He looked back once more into the room and then walked off into the now-dark hall, leaving Morgan alone with Beth. The sounds in the room were a strange mixture of music and machine. This girl was gravity. And it seemed like she had a pull on everyone around her.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"Herd've passed by now. We should go back." Rick was speaking low to Carol and Michonne on the edge of the group's camp. They were just outside the city at a warehouse they'd cleared during their time at the quarry.  
"Can't risk all of us. I'll stay back. You know he's gonna want to go." Carol motioned in the direction of the woods. "You, Daryl, Michonne, Glenn. Should go tonight. Can be back before dawn." She looked at Michonne who nodded a silent approval.   
The rest of the group sat, solemn around a small fire. Rick approached them and knelt in front of the flames. "We're gonna go back. Get her. Be back here before light. Myself, Glenn, Daryl, Michonne... Everyone else stays back."  
There were no protests. The group looked around at each other. Carl was holding a sleeping Judith and clutched her a little tighter. 

Glenn's eyes scanned the faces of his family before finally settling to where Maggie was, curled up and weeping softly in a sleeping bag not far. He looked down to the dirt. Everyone was grieving in their own way. But Maggie was inconsolable.   
Rick and Glenn got in the car, followed by Michonne. Rick whistled and Daryl approached from where he had been standing in the darkness just beyond the trees. He hadn't slept and looked absolutely defeated. But he climbed in and shut the door, keeping his focus out the window for the time being. Glenn started the car and group headed off to Atlanta.   
Atlanta looked haunted. Hell, it was haunted. The dead owned the city now. After this trip, none of them ever saw a reason to return to this corner of hell on earth. The light of the moon allowed them to easily navigate where the fire truck had broken down. A half dozen walkers ambled about the street, turning towards the low rumble of the car engine. Michonne got out and quickly dispatched them. Rounding the firetruck after the last one she stilled. "Rick. Rick stop." She turned to look at them, her face devoid of emotion. 

Rick, Daryl, and Glenn had gotten out of the car and we're making their way towards the firetruck when they caught Michonne's hard glare. Looking only at Rick, she forced the words out. The words none of them wanted to hear. "It's gone." She looked to Glenn and Daryl before looking back once again to Rick. "The car. It isn't there."  
Instantly Daryl began sprinting towards where they had left the car not even 48 hours before.  
"Daryl!" Rick whispered loudly. "Daryl wait!"  
Daryl ran a few yards and suddenly stopped in the spot where the car had been. He looked around. 360 degrees around and no sign of it. He was spinning. The world was spinning. Suddenly he let out a growl of anger and frustration and dropped to his knees. "No! No... No, no, no..." A sad whimper was all he could manage as he instantly felt Beth's loss all over again. He smashed his fists against the ground, leaned forward and let his forehead rest on the asphalt as hot tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes.

Glenn was in shock. No one had been prepared for this possibility. He looked to Rick in confusion. Rick just shook his head and turned away. Things just kept stacking up against them. She was gone. Not only was she gone, but she was gone in the worst way possible. Nothing left. How was he going to tell Maggie?   
Rick, Glenn, and Michonne leaned against the firetruck in silence as Daryl sat in the road. Finally, Rick approached him. He bent down and whispered with unsure words, "I know. I know what this..." Rick stopped himself. He let out a sigh. In truth, he had no idea. But the sun would be coming up soon and they had to get out of the city. Rick looked around and leaned down once again close to Daryl. "We gotta go back. Judith, Carl... They ain't safe... We gotta go back..." And with that, Rick left him and walked back towards the car. Michonne was still staring at Daryl in the street. She watched him slowly stand before she herself turned to walk back to the car. On her way, she eyed the open can door of the firetruck and stepped over a yo-yo laying on the ground.  
The sun was rising just as the group made it back. Daryl immediately got out of the car and slammed the door, stalking off into the woods beyond their campsite.

Carol watched him go and looked to Rick with questioning eyes.  
"Made it there. It was..." He put his hands on his hips trying to find the proper words. "Wasn't there. It was just gone."  
Carol bit her lip as she looked in the direction Daryl had stormed off and then turned to look over her shoulder to where Maggie was still sleeping. It was going to be another rough day.  
She put her hand on Rick's shoulder and he nodded. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Music. There was music. And light. And... Pain. Beth's eyes fluttered open. Her throat was sore. Her stomach turned. She couldn't get up. She felt weak. She tried to sit up but felt herself growing tired. She closed her eyes again and everything faded to gray. To black. Quiet. It was quiet again.

Morgan had woken up and eaten a meager breakfast. He didn't want to overstay his welcome but these people didn't seem to mind his presence, let alone acknowledge him. Taking the stairs back up to the main floor he nodded at familiar faces whom he had been introduced to the day before. One of the faces, the doctor who he had spoken to yesterday, looked absolutely exhausted. "Morning." Morgan's greeting seemed to have taken him by surprise.  
The doctor looked up with red-rimmed eyes and forced a faint smile before mumbling something setting off in the opposite direction.  
Morgan could still hear the record playing in the room with the girl. It was nice to listen to. Didn't hear much music anymore. He set his cup of instant coffee down next to the bed and looked at the girl. Her head was now bandaged. There was also a cast on her arm. She had stitches in two places on her pale face. But this little young thing was still beautiful. Morgan smiled as he thought about his late wife. How she had to have been not much older than this girl when he met her during their first year of college. Memories of her smile flashed through his mind. Then he stopped. That was the first happy memory he had had in a long while. This girl, she was gravity. She was gravity for goodness. He smiled again and really looked her over. The sun was coming through the blinds and you could already tell it was gearing up to be another hot Georgia day. As the sun's rays tracked their way across the room, Morgan noticed the glimmer of something on the girl's wrist. A metal cross on a bracelet. He focused on it. After a minute he noticed her fingers were moving. He looked up to the girl's face and was met with wide, blue eyes staring right at him.

He just stared at her in shock.

"Hi," she managed to get out.  
"Hi." He forced himself to say. Mouth agape, and still stunned. This girl. This girl he had found not 24 hours ago in a trunk with a bullet wound to her forehead-- had spoken to him.

"Can... Can I... Have some water... Please?" The girl rasped and swallowed hard.   
Morgan nodded his head frantically, getting up and stumbling out of the room. Looking around he found there was no one in the hall. He rushed towards the stairs and ran straight into the doctor again.   
"She... She..." He couldn't get the words out. "Water, she's asking for water."  
Dr Edwards looked up at him with confusion. Suddenly he realized who the "she" being referred to was and rushed to Beth's room. Stopping at the doorway he was met with what he could only describe as a miracle. Beth was awake. Lazy but bright eyes and smiling up at the ceiling.

"I can't remember the last time I heard a record." She breathed out before blinking a few times and finally shutting her eyes, once again falling back asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Dr. Edwards had made himself comfortable in the chair next to Beth's bed. He'd brought a few more records, a book, and his lunch. The hours passed and it was almost sunset when Beth woke up again.  
Her eyes gracefully fluttered open and she softly reached to remove the oxygen mask from her face. She took a deep breath and let her eyes adjust to the dimming light.

"That looks good." She said, eyeing the leftovers on his plate.

He set his book down and gave a faint smile. "You must be starving." He looked at the picked over guinea pig. "Should probably start you out with some broth. I think we might even have some pudding or jello downstairs too."  
She faintly smiled back. There was an awkward minute or two as Beth looked around the room. Every time she woke up she was feeling more and more alert, but she didn't attempt to sit up or move much. Her eyes traveled back to Dr. Edwards who was picking at one of his nails and staring down at the floor.

"I don't..." Beth attempted but stopped. She wanted to be careful of her words. "I don't remember everything." She looked at him earnestly. "I remember you, and I remember... A woman. But I don't remember everything."  
He looked up at her and for a second he just stared at her blankly. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to lie to her. But where should he begin?

Suddenly Beth's eyes widened as her mind was interrupted with another memory. "Carol? Is she... Did she make it?"  
This time Edwards responded immediately. "Yeah. Yes. You uh... You saved her. She ended up pulling through. You and your people are tough. She even walked out of here on her own." He swallowed. Shit. He didn't mean to say that. But Carol wasn't there now so Beth would have found out eventually.

Beth's eyebrows furrowed. She looked like she wanted him to elaborate but instead she simply settled for "Oh."  
Edwards looked back down. Another minute of silence and he stood up, grabbing his neglected plate and heading out the door. "I'll go grab you something to eat. You're healing quickly, but it's been days since you had a real meal." Oh no. Again. She probably didn't know how long she had been out. He wasn't good at this. He was going to say something wrong. He was halfway down the hall when double-backed and poked his head into her room. "Do you like chocolate or vanilla?"  
"What?"  
"If they have pudding- what do you like? Chocolate or Vanilla?"  
Beth thought about it for a second. "Chocolate...?" It came out a question because honestly, she had no idea which one she preferred. It was a strange feeling not to know something so insignificant about herself. She banished her worry from her thoughts for now.

Edwards noticed her uncertainty but nodded and set off towards the cafeteria once again.  
Beth stretched her arms up and to the sides, making circular motions and trying to get her blood pumping again. She was stiff and sore in a way she had never been before. Her though brought her back to that simple question as she looked out the window. How could she not even remember something so basic about herself but remember other things? She had pieces but not the whole puzzle. She remembered the farm. The barn burning. Lori. Her daddy. Shivering, she shook away the memory from her head. This was all giving her a headache. She needed a distraction. Something to get her mind off everything. She turned on her side and reached for the records, picking them up carefully and reading the names of the artist to see if she recognized any of them. Nope. None of them rang any bells. But a record was a record so she picked one out to play. She set the rest down and picked up the book Edwards had left on the side table. She opened it and read the brief description on the inside jacket, almost giggling out loud at the premise. The thought of Edwards reading a book about the travels of a father and son in a post-apocalyptic world were a strange thing to read when the dead were lurking right outside these walls.  
She sighed as she remembered Rick and Carl. She thought about where they might be. If they were still out there. Where they might be. Of course they were out there she corrected herself. Rick was a survivor. But her breath caught in her throat and she fought off tears thinking about baby Judith. She wiped them away and took a deep breath. "We don't get to cry anymore." She whispered to herself. Especially not her. She was alive. She had made it.  
She opened the book and began to read Chapter 1.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Morgan looked out into the battered ruins of the once-sprawling cityscape. The world was different up here on the roof. It was almost... Peaceful. He had slept another night at the hospital, but was beginning to go stir crazy and felt his time here would soon end. It wasn't like he had any place in particular to be, he just didn't want to overstay his welcome. If things went south, and they always did, he wanted to make a quick exit.

An officer approached him and offered him a cup of coffee. He turned, faintly recognizing him as the man who had been out with Shepard that day they had found the girl. He took the cup of coffee and nodded a silent thanks.  
The stars were bright against the dark horizon. From up here even the sounds of the dead were drowned out.   
"You from around here?" The officer prodded, trying to make small talk. Morgan didn't like small talk. But for now, he supposed he would play along. 

"Nah. Lived over in Kings county." Morgan took a sip and turned to him. "How 'bout you?" He could play this game too.  
"Born and raised in Boston." He pushed up a sleeve on his uniform to reveal a tattoo of an Irish flag with something about brothers of Boston written in loopy letters below. He pulled the sleeve back down. "Moved out here just before it all happened. Kind of one of those once-in-a-lifetime offers you can't refuse, know what I mean?" The officer chuckled. "Probably the best damn decision I ever made though, coming here. Still standing. Still alive. Felt guilty for a while but... Guess sometimes you just gotta believe maybe it's fate, you know?"

Morgan didn't respond. He just let those words rattle around in his brain. Fate? Is that what he though this was? Morgan suddenly felt uncomfortable with this guy's blasé attitude.   
Morgan decided to change the subject. "Y'all knew the girl. How'd she get shot?"  
The blunt question took the officer somewhat by surprise. But he looked Morgan straight in the eye and vaguely recounted what happened. "She made a dumb move. Got shot. Wasn't any of us, if that's what you're wondering. The one who shot her is dead." He stared back at Morgan.

Morgan could feel there might be something more, but he wasn't going to press it. Not now. He could tell he had gotten the truth, or most of it, and that was good enough for the time being.  
The officer was done with this conversation for now. He finished his coffee and walked over to the ledge, crumpled the styrofoam cup in one hand and released it to float down into the littered street below. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Beth was finally sitting up. It ended up that she actually preferred the taste of vanilla pudding. But chocolate wasn't that bad either. She had finished her broth and was now pushing her food around her plate. It was some kind of meat she didn't recognize. She peeled a bit off the bone and put it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, trying to decide if she could stomach it, let alone like it. 

Officer Shepard was passing through the hall and for the briefest moment made eye contact with Beth, to which Beth smiled. She recognized her and didn't feel any warning bells going off when trying to remember any of their previous interactions. Shepard stopped and walked to the door, just short of actually going inside Beth's room.  
"I see they finally brought you something. Must be starving."  
Beth held up her fork with the meat and tilted her head and wrinkled her nose. Shepard laughed. "You get used to it, after a while."

Beth was still inspecting the strange stringy protein. "What is it?"  
"Do you really wanna know?"  
Beth nodded.  
"Guinea pig."   
Beth made a noise and stuck out her tongue and both of them burst into a fit of laughter.  
Beth felt a little more at ease. She liked Shepard. She was nice. She reminded her of Maggie. Pretty. Kind eyes. But tough.   
"Hey, it's better than starving. Not like we have many other options."  
Beth perked up. "I can hunt. I mean. I know how. I could probably try and find a deer or something for ya'll. Outside the city that is."

Beth knew they were being more than generous in taking care of her like this. However she was still unsure how it worked her now that Dawn was out of the picture.

Shepard shifted her feet and looked out the window at the deteriorating buildings.  
"Just... focus on feeling better first." Her words were sincere. "Maybe try walking a little before you go offering to get out there and track down dinner." She grinned at Beth and after another moment slipped out of the room.  
At that same moment Beth looked up to see a man she didn't recognize talking to Edwards. He looked back and her and once his conversation seemed to be over, he began to walk away.

"Hey!" She called as he passed by her room.  
The man stopped. With a huge smile on her face, she greeted him warmly. "I don't think I met you before. I'm Beth Greene." She lifted the arm with her cast and daintily waved.  
The man waved back. "Morgan. Morgan Jones."  
Beth grinned from ear to ear. "Then you're the one I owe a great deal of thanks to. I hear I was a goner if you hadn'ta found me."  
Morgan answered plainly. "Just right place, right time 'sall."  
"Still. I owe you." She looked at him with radiant smile. This girl didn't have a bad bone in her body. He was about to walk away when she spoke up again. "Um... Just, before you go? Could you do me a quick favor?"  
Morgan looked at her and waited. "Could you help me get to the bathroom? Please? Or, um, I guess I can just..." She began to attempt to swing her legs off of the bed and lost her balance. Morgan was right there at her side, catching her before she toppled onto the floor.

"Thanks." She hated feeling vulnerable, but she knew for a while she might need SOME sort of assistance, so she swallowed her pride and allowed herself to be held up by her elbows. Her legs felt heavy and numb, but she took the feel of the cold floor against her bare feet as a reassuring sign that she probably wasn't paralyzed. Step by step he assisted her to the bathroom door.   
"Thanks, I think I can handle it from here." She smiled that huge smile at him again and before he could walk out she opened the door just a bit and asked "Can you stay? For just a few minutes? Think I might need help back."  
"Course." He replied and sat back down in the chair next to her bed.

Turning on a lantern that had been sitting on the counter, the small room gradually filled with a warm dim light. She mentally prepared herself to look into the mirror for the first time and inspect her face. Her stitches were itching something fierce. She supposed they could probably come out now. Reaching under the sink she found a small first aid kid with some fresh bandages, gauze, and suture scissors. She looked at the scissors and shook her head. "Dumb," She muttered to herself as she remembered what she had done. Lifting the scissors to her cheek she began the process of one by one removing the stitches. When she was done she inspected her work. Her fingers patted the pink raised scars. She thought about how different they made her look. But right now she wasn't quite sure it was a good different or a bad different. She was still ambivalent. She pushed her thoughts as side to focus on her head. That bandage was a little more tricky. Dried blood stuck to her hair and made it painful to pull off. Layer after layer, she carefully removed the gauze. Finally, she worked the last piece free. The entry wound itself didn't seem too bad. However she couldn't see the exit wound, which she assumed might look a little worse. The wound was small and round with a puckered red center that still looked like it was in the first days of healing. The rest of her forehead and side of her face was a severely deep red bruise. Unrolling some clean gauze, she went to work covering it back up.  
After finally finishing up in the bathroom, she opened the door. Morgan, who had been asleep, shot his eyes wide open upon hearing her. He got up her back into bed.

"Thanks. Sorry I took so long."  
"Nah, 's ok." Gave me time to read for a bit. He held the book up that Edwards had left and that Beth too had been reading.   
She made a face as she adjusted herself, getting comfortable once again on what appeared to be fresh sheets. Did he do that? She'd have to thank him later for that too.  
"How do like it? I thought it was a bit... Strange?"  
Morgan chuckled and set the book down. "Ain't bad... Actually kind of reminded me of someone I used to know." He thought about Rick. About the prison. About the community Rick said he had built there.  
"Funny. I thought the same thing." Beth was giving up that giant smile again. "But then I guess with everything in life you try and connect it to something real. Makes it have more meaning. Or something like that." Sometimes she felt like she just rambled on.  
Beth was growing tired. Morgan looked at her one last time and gave the first real smile she'd seen him give.. "Should get your sleep. Hear you wanna go hunting soon? Can't get better without your rest." Morgan got up and left the room, shutting the door gently behind him so that she could have her privacy.   
Beth closed her eyes and found herself wondering where Daryl might be. She had this strange need to go hunting just to prove to herself she had actually learned something from him. She wanted to make him proud. Visions of her and Daryl running through the woods together flashed through her mind as she closed her eyes and let sleep take her.


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl stared out the window. It had been 3 days since Grady. They were on the road again. Headed to Richmond. But he didn't really care. It didn't matter. Sure he was alive. But he was barely living.  
After everything. After he ran through the night. After Joe and his gang. After Terminus. God, Terminus. He was ready to die that day. Told God he was ready to go if it meant Beth was ok. She wasn't. He closed his eyes and fought sleep. Sleep brought the dreams. It wasn't that he didn't want to see her in his dreams. It was that feeling after he woke up and his mind had to adjust to her not being there. He wished he could get lit. Push it all away. Yeah, gettin' lit might not even do the trick. Might only remind him of Beth again. He felt the car start to pull off the road. There was a few cars blocking the highway. Good. He didn't want to be stuffed up in here anyways.  
Rick got out and cautiously looked around. No signs of walkers, but they were in unknown territory. "Keep your eyes out. Carl, stay in the van with Judith." Carl wasn't going to protest.   
Daryl got out of the car and looked up at the sign next to the road. 'South Carolina Welcomes You' Daryl let out a scoff and made a b-line straight for the woods without so much as a glance back.   
"Daryl." Rick called out. "Damnit." He slammed the door in frustration. Rick knew Daryl was having a rough time. But he was being stupid. They didn't have the time to go chasing him down if something happened and they needed to leave quickly.  
"Let 'im go. Got enough of us to start clearin these out on our own." Abraham said, motioning towards the cars that were zig zagged across the highway for a few hundred yards.   
Tara spoke up. "Me and Rosita can start checking them. See if there's anything we can use."  
Rick nodded. "Thanks." He looked towards the van. "How's she doin'?" He said, referring to Maggie.  
"Glenn's laying down with her in the back. She hasn't eaten and she's still crying. Hasn't said a word all day," Tara shrugged, looking back towards the van and wishing there was something more they could do to make Maggie feel better.  
Rick looked to Tara and just nodded once more. "Thanks..." He tilted his head and looked into the distance. The sun was still high in the sky. He walked to the first car, climbed in, threw it in neutral and began pushing it off the road.  
Meanwhile in the woods, Daryl was unsuccessfully attempting to shoot some squirrels. This is what he was. This is how he contributed. Kept them fed. Kept little asskicker from going hungry. He lined up a squirrel in his sights. He missed. After a few minutes he tracked another. Missed again. He was fighting off a deep growl. "The fucks was wrong with you?" He heard Merle's voice chastise him in his head. "Third times a charm, baby brother."  
He tried to focus. He breathed. Let the bolt fly. Missed. His patience was non-existent now. He growled in frustration and made one more half-ass attempt at the little bastards for a fourth time. That was when he finally lost it. He chucked his crossbow into the woods, walked right up to the tree he had be aiming at and yanked out the bolt. Without thinking about the consequences of his actions, he angrily snapped it in half over his knee. He dropped the pieces where he stood. He looked down at the broken bolt. Out of breath and blind with anger, he left it and went off to go find where his crossbow landed. Not only was he returning without any food, but he was down a bolt too.

Tyreese had helped them push the last car out of the way when Daryl returned. Daryl could tell they were expecting to see a few squirrels on his belt, but no one said anything. He walked back to the car, got in and slammed the door.  
They had scavenged all they could from these vehicles. Rick got in the drivers seat and looked at Abraham through the side mirror. Everyone was accounted for.  
They headed out once again. Hundreds of miles still between them and their destination: Richmond, VA.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Laughter filled the small hospital room. It had been almost a week and Morgan was still at Grady. Other than keeping Beth company, he took on the responsibility of clearing the walkers from the basement and fixing the fence just outside the main entrance.  
"Check." Beth moved her Queen across the board.   
Morgan blocked his King with a pawn.   
"Check, again." Beth moved her Queen again, taking out the pawn.   
Morgan thought about his next move. He was never great at chess. Beth sure seemed to outnumber him in terms of pieces on the board. He moved his castle down the board in front of his King.  
"Are you gonna sacrifice everything you got before you finally give up?" Beth smiled.   
She decided against taking his castle and moved her horse around another piece instead. "Check mate." She grinned.  
Morgan sat looking at the board wondering how he hadn't seen that move.  
"Glenn, my... Um... My brother-in-law. He taught me. I used to watch him play with my daddy. He said that when some people feel cornered, they get desperate and they start sacrificing their pieces. Pieces they don't think matter." She held up a pawn. "When they start to think the little guys don't matter..." She held up the horse. "That's when they stop paying attention to who really poses a threat." She grinned wide and just watched him.  
Morgan wondered if this girl knew just how insightful she was. She smiled and set the horse back down, looking back at the board and taking in her achievement at beating him once again.   
Together they put the pieces back in the box and folded the wooden board up. Beth sat up and extended her hands. "Help me walk around for a little bit?" Morgan gently took her hands and pulled her up. She bent over and touched her toes, the stood up straight and tall and stretched her arms toward the ceiling. She was gaining strength in her legs but they were still a little weak for laying in bed all the time. He let her lean on him for support as they walked out of the room and down the hall.   
The mood in the hospital was so different from what Beth remembered of her first day there. People were nice to her. Said hi to her every chance they got. The place seemed almost... normal. But it wasn't, of course. There were still strict rations imposed on the other wards for meals. The officers did most of the work, so the officers got most of the food. The one thing that had changed though, they weren't taking people against their will. No one had left, but no one but her and Morgan had arrived either. Beth had a guilty feeling that she needed to start pulling her weight. For now, there was an unspoken agreement between her and Morgan where he would give her a bit of his meals every day. He didn't mind. And she was grateful. She didn't want to take to ask for too much knowing that she was just cooped up in her room while everyone else contributed. She kept Morgan company, talked to him, told him about everything she had learned from her daddy the vet. He seemed interested in any and all knowledge she had about substitutions for medicines. What kind of antibiotics were safe. He didn't need to be here. But for some reason he continued to stick around.   
Beth got to the end of the hall and looked up at him with questioning eyes. She didn't have to ask.  
"Don't look at me. You push yourself as far as you wanna go."   
Morgan was so patient with her. She was very grateful for everything everyone had done for her. She reached out for the handrail and proceeded to take her first step down the stairs. Then the next. A huge grin spread across her face as she realized she was able to support most of her own weight.  
"Soon you won't need me at all," Morgan joked.  
Beth had neared the bottom but at Morgan's words she froze. Daryl. She thought of how she said that to Daryl before. Suddenly her eyes began to fill with tears. Some days were easier than others. Today was not one of those days. She sucked in a breath. They were gone. All of them. She was alive but the chances of her ever seeing them again were slim to none.  
"I think we should go back now," she said quietly, trying not to give away her sudden sadness.   
They turned back around and made their way back to her room. Morgan immediately noticed her change in demeanor. The entire way back she wouldn't even lift her head to look at him. When they got to her room she stopped him at the door and softly said, "I got it from here, thanks," and shut the door.  
Morgan wasn't going to argue with her. She was a grown woman who had been through a lot. All miracles aside, he knew she was painstakingly alone in this world. Kind of like him. But he knew his family was dead and gone. Hers were just... Gone. He knew what loneliness did to people. How dangerous losing hope could be. She was too good to go down that path. He wanted to leave the hospital and get back on the road but he felt a pang of guilt at leaving her behind.  
As he walked down the hall thinking about what might make her feel a little better, he overheard Shepard arguing over a radio. Apparently one of their officers was trapped in a store a few blocks away.  
Shepard caught his eye. "Hey, Morgan..." She wasn't sure if he had heard most of her conversation or not. "I hate to ask but... We're a little short handed here and you..."  
Morgan put his hand up and cut her off. "Where's he at? How many?"  
Shepard pulled out a map of downtown Atlanta and laid it across the desk. She pointed to a spot on the map. "We're here. He's here." She traced her finger just a few inches away. Definitely less than a mile. But a mile on foot in downtown Atlanta was more than dangerous.  
Morgan looked down at the map. It seemed easy enough.   
"But there's about, two dozen?" Shepard looked at him as if she expected him to say no.   
Morgan rubbed his chin. That was a lot of walkers for just one person to take out. His eyes scanned the room and landed on an alarm clock. He walked over to it and picked it up. "Mind if I take this?"  
Shepard looked at him unsure of why he was asking and just shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess."  
Morgan took one last look at the map, memorizing the multiple routes to get there and then promptly left and headed towards the stairs.

His walk there was pretty easy. He snuck around buildings and tried not to draw too much attention to himself. Peeking around the last corner Morgan spotted the group of walkers Shepard had been talking about. There was a couple dozen, actually maybe more, pushing themselves against a door. Just by looking at the lack of exits he knew this guy had really gotten himself in a pickle. It was stupid, going into a place like that. And apparently his partner had taken off at the first sign of trouble.   
Morgan studied the building. It was a pawn shop, most likely raided and picked over plenty of times before. No doubt it would be close quarters in there. He took the alarm clock out of his pack and jogged down the opposite side of the street. He set it down on the hood of a car and adjusted the settings on the alarm so that it would go off two minutes later.   
He moved back across the street and waited.   
Cutting through the moans, the alarm finally began to wail. Walkers looked up in the direction of the noise and began to abandon their attempts to get into the pawn shop.  
After most of them had been drawn away, Morgan got his knife out and snuck over to the entrance, quickly taking care of the half dozen walkers that were left.   
He stopped and announced himself. Last thing he needed was to get shot by this guy on accident. "It's Morgan, I'm coming in. Don't shoot. Shepard sent me to help you get out of here." He pushed the rotted wooden door open and let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. There were water logged magazines, stereo systems, and all sorts of other junk strewn about.   
Why this guy had even attempted to come in here he had no idea. He made his way to the back office and nudged the door open carefully. There in the corner was a young cop, curled in on himself and holding his 9 mm in his right hand.  
"Hey." Morgan didn't want to frighten him.  
The officer looked up at him surprised.   
"You ready to go or are we gonna wait around for them to come back?" Trying to lighten the mood he smirked at the officer who he could tell had been crying. Hell. Trapped by that many walkers anyone would feel helpless. The officer got up and grabbed a bag near the door.   
"Lets go." Morgan turned to head out but as he did, something under a turned over shelf caught his eye. He remembered something Beth had mentioned to him a few days ago and without thinking twice, he picked up the object and a few things next to it. With that, the two of them were off, making their way the long way back to Grady.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Tara watched as everyone settled down to sleep. They were making good time and were already in North Carolina. But the more east they traveled the more dangerous their journey seemed to be. Rosita came and sat next to her and held out the rest of her meager portion of canned beans. "Here, can't eat these anymore." She offered  
"Ooo my favorite!" Tara grinned.  
Rosita jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow and rolled her eyes.  
There was a couple minutes of silence and then Rosita spoke up "Maybe Daryl will catch something tonight?"  
They looked at each other but Tara didn't offer any commentary on the subject, instead just fumbling around with the spoon in the can.  
The group was lucky enough to come across a case of beans a few days ago and that was all they had eaten since. It was times like this they realized just how much they had come to depend on the hunter.

Daryl was out in the woods by himself again tonight. But despite what people thought, he wasn't hunting. Wasn't even gonna try. He sat at the base of a tree, carving lines into the giant roots sticking out of the ground. He took out a cigarette and lit it, sucking in the dry, stale tobacco and then let the smoke out through his nose. How did they get here? What the fuck was he doing? After about a minute he heard rustling in the leaves. A single walker appeared out of the darkness. Daryl didn't even make an attempt to move or get up. He just stared the miserable fuck down. He let the decayed corpse fall on top him before he shoved his knife through the base of its skull. It stunk. It smelled like death. But Daryl didn't want to move it. He dropped his arms to his sides and put his head back against the tree and gave in to sleep for a while.


End file.
